Untitled
by Kittengrl39
Summary: Taiyo is living as a ningen, and manages to forget all about his past. Until an old friend shows up on his doorstep... with the Reikai Tantei after him... (On Hold)
1. Chapter 1

Yup, another one. *sighs* I'll get back to the series someday...  
  
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A man sat at a desk in a darkened room, staring intensely at the screen in front of him, fingers tapping furiously. His glasses reflected the words on the screen. A few minutes passed...  
  
Then the man stopped typing, stretched, and sat back with a small sigh of satisfaction. Another virus eradicated, another website fixed, another satisfied client. He ran a hand through his honey-colored hair and thought about his job.  
  
Taiyo was a computer hacker, and a good one. People bought his services and, in return, he got his privacy. That was the way he liked it. After, he didn't want another episode like in his childhood... especially here, in the Ningenkai...  
  
He shied away from that thought. Turning back to his desk, he started work on another project.  
  
Then the doorbell rang.  
  
Taiyo frowned and put the computer into standby mode. He wasn't expecting any visitors... who could it be?  
  
He opened the door and sighed. "Michiro, what are you doing here?"  
  
The man in question smiled nervously. His long maroon hair hung limply about his face, and his chocolate-colored eyes darted around, as though watching for someone or something. He looked so skittish that if you snuck up behind him and said, "Boo!", he'd probably jump three feet in the air.   
  
"Hey, Taiyo, long time no see," he said, his hands twitching.   
  
Taiyo remained impassive in the doorway, one eyebrow arched. "And?"  
  
Michiro broke down. "Look, man, I just need a place to stay for a while," he pleaded. "Can I stay with you?"  
  
Taiyo remained in his position a minute longer, then sighed. "All right."  
  
"Thanks, man," Michiro said gratefully. "You have no idea how much I need this."  
  
He slipped past Taiyo into the townhouse and, presumably, the kitchen.  
  
Taiyo raised a questioning eyebrow, then decided, ~I don't want to know.~   
  
"Just clean everything up once you're done," he called into the kitchen, where the sounds of frantic eating could be heard.   
  
"Mmhh-mpph!"  
  
He assumed this meant yes and got back to work on his project. He and Michiro were childhood friends, and Michiro often headed for his place when he needed a place to crash.  
  
Half an hour later, Michiro was still in the kitchen and Taiyo was deeply engrossed in his project, when the doorbell rang again. Michiro's ears pricked up, his mouth full of sandwich.   
  
"I'll get it," Taiyo called, and started towards the door. ~Why so many visitors today?~ he wondered, as he opened the door to see an oddly assorted group of teens. He blinked and tried to size them up. One of the black-haired ones looked like a typical street punk and seemed to be the leader. The other black-haired one - a short little guy - looked bored, superior, and altogether as though he'd rather not be there. The tall, orange-haired guy also looked like a street punk and probably followed whatever the leader said. To complete the group, a red-haired teen stood nearby who, at first, he had mistaken for a girl.  
  
"Who are you?" Taiyo asked.  
  
The street punk spoke up first. "We're the Spirit Detectives. We're looking for a Mr. Michiro."  
  
Taiyo rolled his eyes and muttered "Oh Lord..."  
  
"You're looking for him?" he asked in confirmation.  
  
"Yes, that's right," said the red-haired one, nodding.  
  
"Michiro!" Taiyo roared. "What in seven hells did you do now??!"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Michiro?"  
  
Still no answer.  
  
Taiyo sighed and said to the blank-looking Spirit Detectives, "Wait just a minute." He went back inside and discovered Michiro about to climb out the kitchen window. He cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem!"  
  
Michiro jumped and gave him a nervous smile. "Ah... Taiyo... just... checking out the window here..."  
  
"Yeah, right."  
  
Taiyo grabbed the scrawny man by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to the door, Michiro protesting loudly every step of the way. "So what did he do?" he asked the group, while holding the struggling Michiro.  
  
"Hey, man, it was nothing," he protested, still attempting to get loose. "I just needed some quick cash, snuck into the treasury, grabbed a few jewels, you know, the really small ones, and got out of there. I never figured they'd even miss 'em, seeing as how they got all that money."  
  
Taiyo arched an eyebrow. "You stole from the Makai treasury and thought it wouldn't be noticed? For a thief as smart as you are, Mich, you can be pretty thick sometimes."  
  
The Detectives still had a slightly stunned look on their faces. Who was this ningen, and how did he know about the Makai? They'd assumed he had sheltered the thief while not knowing that he was a demon. Now their assumptions were being thrown in their faces.  
  
Luckily, they recovered quickly. "That's the thief," Kurama confirmed. "Now, if you'll just hand him over, and the jewels as well, we'll be on our way."  
  
"Hold up a minute," Taiyo protested. "Does he need to be taken to jail for something like this? Come to think of it, this doesn't seem like a high-priority case. Why are you here? Couldn't the security guards handle this?"  
  
In Michiro's pocket, a small, peach-colored stone pulsed...  
  
The orange-haired one scratched his head. "Yeah, that is weird. I remember I didn't think it mattered that much, either."  
  
It pulsed again, harder this time.  
  
"Surely I could just pay his fine for him?" Taiyo pressed.  
  
Michiro gaped. "You'd do that for me, man?" he asked, tears of gratitude in his eyes.  
  
"Don't get carried away," Taiyo muttered. "I just don't want to be found sheltering a criminal."   
  
Pulse...  
  
"I suppose that would be all right," Kurama said.  
  
Hiei grunted in assent.   
  
"Okay, just hold onto him while I go get the money," Taiyo told them, handing Michiro over to Yusuke. He ran into his room and grabbed his wallet. "So, how much?" he asked.  
  
Pulse...  
  
Kurama named a price, and Taiyo took out a few bills and gave them to him. Kurama nodded to Yusuke, who let Michiro go. He immediately started shaking Taiyo's hand in profound relief. "Thanks so much, Taiyo."  
  
"Don't mention it." Taiyo headed back inside. "Ever."   
  
Michiro followed him, shutting the door behind him.  
  
The Reikai Tantei stood there a moment more, then shrugged and walked away. "Well, that was rather anticlimatic," Yusuke said. "Yeah," Kuwabara agreed. "I can't believe Koenma sent us just to get a fine paid."  
  
"Speaking of which, what are you going to do with all that money, Kurama?" Yusuke said, grasping for it. Kurama held it out of reach.  
  
Hiei surprised everyone by saying, "He's going to turn it in to Koenma, you fool."  
  
Kurama smiled at this unexpected help. "Yes, that's right, Hiei," he agreed. Then he frowned. "I have the oddest feeling that this wasn't just a routine case... there was something important..."  
  
He touched the side of his head.  
  
Pulse...  
  
"I just... can't remember..."  
  
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Yes, I'm planning to continue this. I just needed a break from the other one. The next chapter should be up by Friday.  
  
Sorry if they seemed a little OOC in this. It wasn't me, I swear! . The stone is EVIL!!! EEEEEVVVVIIIIILLLLL!!!!!! Ahem. Sorry about that.   
  
I didn't really give good descriptions, so here's a recap. Taiyo is 25 years old and a computer hacker. He has blond hair, bordering on pale brown, so it seems honey-colored. He has soft brown eyes, glasses, and a goatee. Michiro is a 24-year-old thief. He's thin and nervous, with long, maroon hair, and brown eyes. They were childhood friends... in the Makai? Read more to find out. Oh, and review, too. 


	2. Chapter 2

Hm. This actually seems to be doing pretty well. Who would've thought?...  
  
Anyways, review responses.  
  
Rurouni Saiyan: Thanks!   
  
Naoko Kensaku: Thanks for reviewing. I'm beginning to like this fic, so I'll definitely keep it going.  
  
Aoi Me: Glad you actually like something I wrote.  
  
Squeakers: Thanks. That's encouraging.  
  
To All: I'm sorry this took so long! It's just that I couldn't find any inspiration, so I had to put it on hold for a while. ^_^; Here's a chapter to make up for it!  
  
A/N: Yes, I admit it! I... um... `borrowed'... some of the stone's powers from the One Ring. Gomen, J.R.R. Tolkein!  
  
Disclaimer: I forgot a disclaimer. ^^; I don't own anything, except Taiyo, Michiro, and Miyuki. (explained later)  
  
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The peach-colored stone was thinking. (A/N: O.o How can a rock think?)   
  
Michiro found Taiyo sitting at the kitchen table shortly after the group left with a disapproving expression on his face. "I thought we had agreed that you were going honest, Michiro," he frowned.  
  
"Hey, I was," Michiro protested. "But the job I found, it isn't paying enough, you know? And I was in the Makai, and I remembered about the treasury, and..." He gave a helpless shrug.  
  
Taiyo sighed. He knew of Mich's irresistible attraction to anything shiny - and preferably valuable. "Let's at least see what I paid all that money for," he said.  
  
Michiro obligingly dumped the contents of his pockets on the table, hastily snatching back the odd dollar bill. They both leaned over the jewels, admiring them.   
  
"For a thief you certainly have good taste, Michiro," Taiyo murmured, examining a particularly fine emerald. Then he frowned as a glimmer caught his eye. "What's that?"  
  
Mich nudged the gem out from under a small pile of others. It was an odd, irregular shape - as though it hadn't been cut properly, or even not cut at all. It also had an unusual pale pinkish color. As both men leaned over it, Taiyo noticed that it appeared to be pulsing slightly... But that was ridiculous. Stones weren't alive...  
  
Were they?  
  
The stone perceived that its time had come. Accordingly, it sent out the call...  
  
Taiyo frowned suddenly as a slight keening noise began from somewhere. Mich heard it too, wincing as it assaulted his delicate ears.   
  
"Where is that coming from?" Taiyo asked, glancing about the kitchen. It wasn't any of the electronical appliances; he'd have felt it... It definitely wasn't his computer. And the smoke alarm, while annoying, wasn't like this...  
  
It was Mich who discovered the source of the noise. His eyes grew round, and he whispered, "Taiyo! `Ey, Taiyo!"  
  
"Hm?" Taiyo swung his head around to look at his friend.  
  
"It's coming from the stone..."  
  
Abruptly, the keening stopped. However, neither of them moved. Something didn't feel right...  
  
"Michiro," Taiyo whispered.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Go look out the window."  
  
Michiro rose and crept over to the window, cautiously lifting the curtain enough to peer out. He let out a startled squeak, dropped the curtain, and pressed himself against the wall, motioning frantically for Taiyo to join him.  
  
Taiyo rose carefully and made his way over to the window, grabbing the stone as he did and surreptitiously slipping it into his pocket. He wasn't quite certain why he did this, but he felt as if he should. He forgot all about the stone as he took a look out the window.  
  
Demons. Four or five of them, ugly as hell and with wings to match. They were all at least seven feet tall, with cone-shaped heads and powerful legs and arms. Each arm was equipped with three nasty talons. They were black all over, with odd swirls and ridges of skin - closer to hide - and bat wings.  
  
And they were hovering outside his house.  
  
Taiyo carefully dropped the curtain and made eye contact with Michiro. "On the count of three, we leave through the back door," he whispered. Michiro nodded.  
  
"One..."  
  
"Two..."  
  
"Thr-"  
  
CRASH!!!!  
  
A black body crashed through the window between the two men, who immediately started to sprint for the back door. Other demons crashed through the walls in various places. They were almost to the door when Mich cried out, "Help!"  
  
Taiyo spun around and saw that one of the demons had grabbed the back of Mich's dirty t-shirt and was reeling him in closer, oblivious to the other's frantic twists and turns in an attempt to get free.  
  
Taiyo gritted his teeth and dashed in to help him. He slammed full-bodied into the demon, who shrieked at an ear-splitting pitch and let go of Michiro. "Come on!" Taiyo yelled, as he pulled Mich to his feet and started running for the back door again.   
  
As they left, Taiyo took a single backward glance at his home. Most of the demons had spread out to different rooms and seemed to be systematically destroying the place. He winced - it was his home, after all - and kept running.  
  
They stopped to pant for breath when they had gotten a street or two away. Michiro was just about to ask something when the sound of a loud explosion reached their ears. They turned to see a large fireball rising from where Taiyo's house used to be.   
  
"Well, there goes my job," said Taiyo grimly. Mich managed to look both sympathetic and guilty at once.  
  
Then they saw the demons rise above the flames - and start heading in their direction.  
  
"Run!" Taiyo shouted, and they started to run again.  
  
"They're following us!" Michiro shouted. "I don't think we can run fast enough!"  
  
Taiyo understood what he meant and complied. Within seconds, there were no longer two men racing through a maze of alleyways, but a weasel and a stag.  
  
~Where do we go?!~ Mich asked telepathically, panicking slightly. ~They just keep following!~  
  
~Don't worry,~ Taiyo answered, maneuvering around several trash cans. ~I know this place inside and out. Follow me and we'll lose `em.~  
  
Several people later swore that they had seen a stag cross Willow Street, jump over some cars, and disappear into the alley opposite it. The police were disinclined to believe this, because how could there be a stag in downtown Tokyo? Nobody noticed the weasel that went under the cars.  
  
~Would you mind not crossing anymore streets?~ Michiro asked scathingly. ~It's just the slightest bit nerve-wracking to crawl under vehicles that could squash you flat!~  
  
~Now you know how a squirrel feels,~ replied Taiyo equably.  
  
Finally they stopped and transformed back into humans. Michiro peered at the sky overhead and the streets around them.   
  
"The coast is clear," he said finally.  
  
"Good," Taiyo groaned. "My legs feel like wet noodles."  
  
They staggered through the closest doorway they could find, which happened to be a coffee shop, and sat down at a table.  
  
"So what do you think those demons were there for?" Mich asked.  
  
Taiyo glared at him. "I don't know, but they wrecked my house."  
  
Mich continued, oblivious to the glare he was receiving. "We heard the stone making a noise right before they came. Do you think the stone is some kind of whistle, and we activated it somehow?"  
  
Taiyo began to feel curious. "Maybe."  
  
"It's too bad we lost it, then. If we had it, maybe we could figure it out..."  
  
Taiyo suddenly remembered the stone in his pocket, and was about to take it out when a waitress with dark blue hair came up to them. "What would you like today, sirs?"  
  
Michiro and Taiyo stared at her with open mouths.  
  
"Miyuki?!"  
  
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A mound of earth lay, undisturbed, in the Makai. No animals came near it. There was no vegetation of any kind within a ten-foot radius.  
  
Suddenly, a desiccated hand shot up from the top. A body followed, creaking as it went. The long-dead creature stood atop the mound and chuckled, which is horrible to hear when something's lungs are decaying.  
  
"My time has come at last..."  
  
TBC  
  
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Wow! I actually got a chapter done!  
  
Hope I didn't confuse you too much with the Michiro/Mich thing. It's just convenient to have both a nickname and a full name.  
  
In the next chapter, we'll get back to the Reikai Tantei, and find out more about Taiyo's past. And what's with that stone?  
  
Again, sorry about the delay in updating and the short chapter, but I'm going to have a lot more free time now, so expect the next chapter soon! Nice cliffie, don't you think? Ja ne! 


End file.
